On this episode of Our American Stories, a century ago, professional football was a gamble few people believed would pay off. Players worked factory jobs during the week and battered one another on dirt fields on the weekend. Teams appeared and disappeared, crowds were small, and owners sometimes risked everything they had just to make it to the next game. Somehow, out of that chaos, the National Football League survived.

John Eisenberg, author of The League, shares how a handful of determined owners kept professional football alive long enough to transform a struggling sport into an American institution.

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